Who are Kentucky’s top 25 boys’ basketball teams for 2020-21?
READ MORE
2020-21 High School Basketball Preview
The Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com is publishing season preview stories leading up to the start of the 2020-21 high school basketball season on Monday, Jan. 4. You can read everything we’ve published to this point by clicking on this drop-down list. All of the stories are also available in our print editions.
Expand All
If Kentucky boys’ high school basketball gets to tip off this season, it could be extraordinary, because there’s no real consensus among the state’s coaches about who might be best.
Sixteen teams finished last year with a win. That’s 16 region champions with no ultimate state title because the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 was canceled due to the pandemic.
That culminating event not only crowns a champion, it also serves as a scouting combine for the next season. Without it, there are a lot of unknowns.
That uncertainty is reflected in the Herald-Leader’s Preseason Coaches Poll where nine teams received first-place votes.
Male, the runaway favorite a year ago with 81 first-place nods, gets only a slight edge for the new season set to begin Jan. 4 under an abbreviated schedule.
The No. 1 Bulldogs netted 32 first-place votes among the 94 coaches who submitted top-10 lists for our survey. No. 2 Covington Catholic got 21 first-place tallies and No. 3 Ballard got 24.
Last year’s undefeated Ashland Blazer got five first-place votes, followed by Fern Creek with four, Lexington Catholic, Bowling Green and Elizabethtown with two each and Marshall County with one.
Here’s a look at this year’s Herald-Leader High School Boys’ Basketball Preseason Top 25 with a brief summary on what we know about the top 10 teams.
The top 10
(Last season’s record in parentheses)
1. Male (31-4): 7th Region champs. With two of their top scorers back, including highly regarded 6-foot-7 sophomore Kaleb Glenn, it’s no wonder the Bulldogs are a favorite to return to Rupp Arena. “I really feel like we can win the 7th region and compete for a state title,” Male Coach Tim Haworth said. “The covid pandemic is brutal on all of us, but I really like our team chemistry. We have a lot of young talent but are mixed in with a lot of experience. We can score the ball inside and out. Love our potential on the defensive end.” Senior Cam Pope has signed with Jacksonville State. Haworth hails fellow senior Dez Lindsay as “the best on-ball defender that I have coached.”
2. Covington Catholic (29-5): 9th Region champs. Despite losing seven seniors, the Colonels’ pedigree as the 2018 state champs with three straight Sweet 16 appearances is bolstered by having back major contributors in 6-4 senior Donovan Stocks and 6-6 sophomore Chandler Starks. “Our team this year has good experience and is athletic,” said Coach Scott Ruthsatz. “We have good size in the post positions, and athleticism on the perimeter at both the guard and wing positions.”
3. Ballard (28-7): 28th District champs. Coach Chris Renner expects his Bruins, last year’s 7th Region runners-up, will be “one of the top scoring teams in the state” with 6-10 junior Maker Bar providing an intimidating post presence and two other leading scorers back in 6-5 sophomore Gave Sisk and 5-10 sophomore Jack Edelen who averaged 12 and 11.5 points per game, respectively, last season. Bar averaged 10 points along with 7.3 boards per game. The three-point shot is a big part of the offense and “ball handling and defense will also be strengths,” Renner said.
4. Ashland Blazer (33-0): 16th Region champs. Leading scorer Cole Villers, a 6-2 junior, along with standout 5-11 sophomore point guard Colin Porter and 6-0 junior Ethan Sellars try to continue the Tomcats’ magical run. With a trip to the rescheduled Marshall County Hoopfest planned against some of the state’s best, and a road game against No. 1 Male lined up, another undefeated regular season seems unlikely, but Coach Jason Mays said continuing the streak isn’t as important as being tested and ready for the region and state tournaments.
5. Fern Creek (28-6): 6th Region champs. The Tigers return virtually intact with a team that won 15 straight to end last season. Coach James Schooler’s summary for his team in the H-L survey reads only: “Want a state championship.” With leading scorers Jaden Rogers and Zek Montgomery back along with seniors Darrius Washington and Ce’Arius Warren and junior Darian Lewis, that’s a realistic possibility.
6. Lexington Catholic (31-3): 43rd District champs. The Knights, runners-up in the 11th Region, return with 6-3 senior Ben Johnson, one of the best shooting guards in the state, and second-leading scorer Jack Gohmann, a junior who moonlights as LexCath’s starting quarterback in football. Among the supporting cast will be 6-11 sophomore Reece Potter. “With COVID-19 wiping out the summer basketball season and not having any scrimmages we will struggle with experience early,” Coach Brandon Salsman said. “But as the season goes on, I feel we have the makings of a great team.”
7. Bowling Green (26-8): 14th District champs. The last time Coach DG Sherrill roamed the Purples’ sideline, they won a state title in 2017. After a three-year respite, he’s back and he has a veteran squad for this year’s campaign led by Northern Kentucky commit Isaiah Mason, a 6-4 senior, Eastern Kentucky commit Turner Buttry, a 5-11 sophomore, and Conner Cooper, a 6-2 senior, who each averaged double figures in scoring last season.
8. Elizabethtown (27-3): 5th Region champs. The Panthers return six of their top seven players, including 6-0 senior point guard Jaquias Franklin, who averaged 21.5 points per game last season along with double-figure scorers Camden Willams and Khia Sherrard. A “team full of guards,” Coach James Haire sees that as a strength despite their lack of size.
9. Marshall County (23-11): 4th District champs. The Marshals lost four starters, including two 1,000-point career scorers off last year’s 1st Region runners-up. But they’ve got Mr. Basketball front-runner Zion Harmon, one of the best point-guard recruits in the nation who averaged 25.4 points per game last season and is one of the most prolific and accurate three-point shooters in the state. “Without having a summer for our new guys to play more together, it may take us a while to be consistent on the offensive end,” Coach Terry Birdsong said. “However, we expect to be very solid defensively and are quicker this year than most.”
10. Oldham County (30-4): 29th District champs. The top five scorers, four of them double-figure guys, all of them seniors, return to a team that finished runner-up in the 8th Region. Deaton Oak, a 6-2 West Virginia baseball commit, led the team with 14.9 points per game. “On paper we have what it takes to contend for the region and possibly state: depth, shooting, length,” Coach Coy Zerhusen said. “But that will depend on how we play together and fill in the gaps left by the graduation of some important role guys from last year.”
The next 15
(Listed with result of final game last season)
11. Highlands (28-4): 36th District champs. Lost 59-54 to Covington Catholic in the 9th Region finals.
12. Trinity (18-15): 27th District champs. Lost 58-47 to St. Xavier in first round of the 7th Region Tournament.
13. Clark County (28-7): 10th Region champs. Defeated Montgomery County 53-50 in region finals.
14. Eastern (22-11): Lost to Male 59-52 in 7th Region semifinals.
15. Scott County (19-16): 11th Region champs. Defeated Lexington Catholic 65-62 in region finals.
16. North Laurel (22-10): Lost 66-64 to Knox Central in 13th Region first round.
17. John Hardin (30-4): 17th District champs. Lost 71-63 in overtime to Bardstown in 5th Region finals.
18. Martin County (22-12): 15th Region champs. Defeated Lawrence County 65-61 in region finals.
19. Jeffersontown (21-9): 6th Region runners-up. Lost to Fern Creek 48-43 in region finals.
20. Warren Central (26-7): 4th Region champs. Defeated Bowling Green 53-42 in region finals.
21. Madison Central (14-18): 44th District champs. Lost to Tates Creek in the 11th Region first round.
22. Madisonville (31-3): 2nd Region champs. Defeated Webster County 73-58 in region finals.
23. Beechwood (21-12): Lost to Conner 78-59 in the 9th Region first round.
24. Frederick Douglass (21-12): 42nd District champs. Lost to Lexington Catholic 65-54 in the 11th Region semis.
25. Bardstown (25-9): 19th District champs. Lost to Elizabethtown 74-72 in 5th Region finals.
Methodology: Our annual survey was emailed to all 272 KHSAA boys’ basketball coaches in Kentucky using their email registered with the KHSAA. Multiple attempts were made to encourage every school to participate. Coaches were asked to select their top 10 teams, and points were assigned based on a team’s position on the ballot (10 points for No. 1, nine points for No. 2, eight points for No. 3, etc.):, and tabulated across all ballots received; some schools participated in the survey but declined to vote due to unfamiliarity with players and teams outside of their own area. A total of 94 coaches (34.5 percent): voted in our top-10 teams poll of the 178 coaches (65.4 percent) who responded to the survey and supplied information about their teams.
2020-21 season preview
This is the first of eight stories the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com is publishing in the coming days previewing the 2020-21 high school boys’ and girls’ basketball seasons, which are scheduled to tip off Jan. 4.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 7:49 AM.
